Adding to a portfolio that includes the Seagram Building and Lever House, developer Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding has bought the Paramount Hotel for $275 million from Walton Street Capital and Highgate Holdings, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011.
RFR had an incentive to buy, the Journal said, taking advantage of a tax law by reinvesting proceeds from a recent sale to defer a capital-gains payment. [more]

RFR co-founders Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs, billionaire Peter Brant, investor Harry Lis and hotelier Ian Schrager

A $700 million asking price may be the least of prospective buyers’ concerns as they contemplate the purchase of a 49 percent stake in the landmarked Seagram Building at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd streets, according to Crain’s. Another major problem may be the trail of failed partnerships left behind by majority owners Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs. Billionaire Peter Brant is selling his share of the property after his relationship with Rosen and Fuchs soured. At one point, the pair reportedly made somewhat disparaging remarks about Brant’s wife, former supermodel Stephanie Seymour. Brant and Seymour were reportedly going through an especially public divorce at the time of the remarks, with accusations of infidelity and drug use referenced in the media. Brant is expected to make between $100 million and $150 million from the sale, based on a valuation of about $1.1 billion for the building and its debt. [more]

Aby Rosen and the approved plans for 980 Madison

This isn’t Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs’ finest hour. In addition to a feud with longtime business partner Harry Lis, and an impending foreclosure at their 610 Lexington Avenue development site, Rosen and Fuchs’ RFR Holding is also now running low on cash at 980 Madison Avenue. The loan on the five-story, 100,000-square-foot building, which sits between East 76th and East 77th streets and within the Upper East Side Historic District, is still current, but according to Crain’s, it has entered special servicing and could go into default when it matures in October. [more]

Aby Rosen and a rendering of the proposed hotel

Foreclosure is nearing on Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs’ 610 Lexington Avenue development site, where they and their partners had planned to build a Shangri-La hotel tower. According to Crain’s, the group has failed in their an attempt to re-argue a case they had lost, which clears the way for lenders ING Real Estate Finance and Swedbank AB to foreclose. In that case, they had argued that their obligation to repay their $130 million-plus loan should be suspended until market conditions improve, and alleged a conflict of interest between lender ING and ING Clarion, which was advising one of their development partners. [more]

From left: Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs

Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs, managing partners of RFR Holding, are feuding with their longtime business partner over their struggling real estate assets. According to the Post, Rosen and Fuchs sued partner Harry Lis in February for his refusal to inject capital into several properties that became distressed after the Lehman Brothers collapse, despite reaping the benefits of deals, like their $28.9 million sale of 451 Lexington Avenue last fall. According to the lawsuit, the trio had agreed that when one property within their portfolio made money, those profits would go toward propping up other properties in need of cash. [more]

After months of rumors, the buyer paying upwards of $80 million to take over the legendary Hotel Chelsea has been revealed as New York real estate developer Joseph Chetrit. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Chelsea’s longtime tenants will be happy to know that Chetrit is not planning a condominium conversion, as some had speculated that a new owner would. Instead, he’ll renovate and modernize the landmark 222 West 23rd Street building, known for housing artists like Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Jim Morrison over the course of its 127-year history. [more]

Images from “Building Stories” include, clockwise from top left, Costas Kondylis, Kondylis-designed Riverside South, Donald Trump, Richard Meier and Larry Silverstein

Manhattan’s most prolific architect will get the big-screen treatment in the premier of a new documentary by The Real Deal tonight.

The film, “Building Stories,” about the career of architect Costas Kondylis, who has added more than 86 towers to the New York skyline yet has remained relatively unknown to the general public, is airing as part of an invite-only event at the Morgan Library in Midtown.

Developer Donald Trump, who has hired Kondylis for many of his buildings, is slated to introduce the film. Renowned New York journalist and novelist Peter Hamill will also give a talk. The event is expected to draw more than 750 people. TRD [more]

Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding is looking to unload a 49 percent stake in the landmark Seagram Building at more than $2,000 per square foot. According to the Post, the record price per square foot for an office building was set at $1,585 in 2007 with the sale of 450 Park Avenue, and while prices have rebounded somewhat since the real estate crash, such a price is untested in today’s market. “If you want to test the strength of the market, it’s certainly the building with which to do it,” said Woody Heller, head of capital transactions group at Studley, which is not marketing the building. [more]

Stuart Elliott

From the May issue: The Real Deal is firing up the klieg lights and rolling out the red carpet.
This month will see the premiere of our first full-length documentary feature film. Called “Building Stories,” it’s a look at the most prolific architect in New York City, Costas Kondylis, who has added an incredible 86 towers to the skyline here but is a relative unknown to the average man on the street.
The film, which features interviews with real estate bigwigs like Donald Trump, Larry Silverstein, Richard Meier, Aby Rosen and many others, will be screened as part of an invite-only event May 11 at the Morgan Library in Midtown. Later this month, check out our website for more information about the film’s public release date. [more]

Possible contenders Ian Schrager (top) and Andre Balazs with the Hotel ChelseaA mystery buyer has agreed to buy the Hotel Chelsea for more than $80 million, triumphing over a pool of luminaries that for months have fueled intense speculation about the future of the landmark West 23rd Street property, Eastdil Secured broker Douglas Harmon confirmed to the Wall Street Journal. But the speculation doesn’t end here. Previously reported front-runners for the takeover of the legendary hotel included hoteliers Ian Schrager and Andre Balazs, former manager Stanley Bard and Tristar Capital’s David Edelstein. (On Monday, a tenant-written blog reported that Edelstein had emerged the victor, which a hotel spokesperson quickly denied). Today, the rumor mill churned out a few fresh names, including Aby Rosen, pop singer Marc Anthony and Google. [more]